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Song receives ACS's Henry H. Storch Award in fuel chemistry

April 23, 2010

Song receives ACS's Henry H. Storch Award in fuel chemistry

University Park, Pa. -- Chunshan Song, distinguished professor of fuel science and director of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' Energy Institute at Penn State, has received the Henry H. Storch Award in Fuel Chemistry.

The Henry H. Storch Award, co-sponsored by the Division of Fuel Chemistry of the American Chemical Society and Elsevier Ltd., is given annually to recognize an individual in the field of fuel science for an exceptional contribution to research on the chemistry and utilization of hydrocarbon fuels. Special consideration is given to innovation and novelty in the use of fuels, characterization of fuels, and advances in fuel chemistry that benefit the public welfare or the environment. The award is the highest ACS Fuel Chemistry Division's honor for research.

Song is known internationally for his contributions to clean fuels, catalysis and carbon dioxide capture and conversion research. His early research on catalytic coal liquefaction and the effects of drying on low temperature coal conversion led to a method for preparing highly active dispersed catalysts. Further fundamental studies using probe molecules resulted in two patents related to nano-sized ultra-high-surface metal sulfide catalysts. From his efforts to make better use of coal-derived aromatics, he designed shape-selective alkylation catalysts used in the synthesis of advanced polymers precursors and engineering materials from naphthalene.

His contributions to coal-based advanced thermally stable jet fuels rely on the fundamental chemistry related to fuel composition and structure. For ultra-clean fuels and fuel cells, Song and his group devised a selective adsorption approach for removing sulfur from liquid hydrocarbon fuels without using hydrogen.

A Storch Award Symposium in Honor of Chunshan Song will be held at ACS Fall 2010 National Meeting to be held August 22-26 in Boston.